Equestria Hockey League

by XFizzle

EHL Part VIII - Broad Street Bullies

Equestria Hockey League Part VIII – Broad Street Bullies
by XFizzle

The day of the next Golden Leafs game, Twilight and Spike met their friends at the carriage station to board their ride to nearby Fillydelphia. During the week, the Golden Leafs met twice for practice. The first practice was spent working on special teams, especially the penalty kill as they allowed three power play goals against Canterlot. The second practice was spent working on their toughness and checking so that their bodies could handle the second-half grind. Both practices were lively and hard-hitting as the Golden Leafs turned their irritation for the Flyers into physical energy. After the poison joke package and the ominous doll message left for them, the Golden Leafs were anxious to meet the Flyers back out on the ice so that they get their hooves on them.

Aboard the carriage, Twilight reviewed the first game against Fillydelphia and refreshed her friends on the Flyers’ playing style. Rainbow Dash ignored the scouting session and devised new ways to dangle and deke the puck when she would have it. Applejack imagined in her head vicious checks and hits she could hand out to the annoying Flyers players. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike listened but did not process the overload of information Twilight tended to give. Two hours of talking and traveling later, the carriage arrived in front of the Flyers’ home arena in Fillydelphia, the Welsh Fargo Center. When the Golden Leafs stepped out, a vile odor collided with their nostrils. The smell of the city was overbearing for Rarity who collapsed into Applejack’s forelegs. Luckily the visitor’s entrance to the arena lay right before them. Not wasting any time, the ponies marched into the building and straight to their locker room.

---

Inside the locker room, Spike helped each pony get their equipment on. The Golden Leafs went around the room expressing their dislike for the Fillydelphia Flyers.

“Oooh I can’t wait to give those wretched Flyers a piece of my mind! Who are they to intimidate us?” said Rarity sternly.

Rainbow looked to Rarity and nodded with her. “Yeah, I mean, they’re in LAST place. They’re losers! They don’t have any right to try to scare us!”

“Them Flyers ain’t gonna know what hit them tonight I’ll tell ya what!” shouted Applejack with energy in her voice.

“Now girls, let’s not forget why we’re here. Let’s focus on winning tonight. We need to be calm, cool, and collected. We need to be poised,” begged Twilight as she noticed her teammates’ tempers rising.

“Boooringgg!” yelled Pinkie Pie. “Let’s get rough! Let’s get tough! Let’s go crazy!”

Pinkie bounced all over the room growling and making funny angry faces at her teammates before Fluttershy spoke up. “Um…I agree with Twilight, we should…”

Rainbow trotted over to Fluttershy. “We should what? Fillydelphia are nothing but jerks and I bet they’re not going to be nice tonight. You’re going to have to be tough Fluttershy or else the Flyers are going to wipe you all over the ice!”

Fluttershy squeaked in fright as Twilight brushed Rainbow away. “Chill out Rainbow, Fluttershy knows how it’ll go tonight. She’ll be ready, won’t you Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and quietly nodded.

Applejack jumped up from her stall and started walking toward the door. “Ah’m so excited to get on out there and start hittin’! I cain’t wait! Let’s go right now!”

Twilight grabbed her by the tail. “Wait, Applejack! I haven’t given the usual pregame talk yet!”

“Phooey on the talk, Twi, we know what we need ta’ do, right Golden Leafs?!”

“Yeah!” shouted Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie. Twilight and Fluttershy looked at their teammates with apprehension.

With a sigh, Twilight motioned to the door and the Golden Leafs filed out toward the rink full of anxious vitality.

As they approached the rink, the hallway expanded to allow room for the zamboni mules and their ice plows. Across the opening, also filing out of their locker room were the Flyers. Glass partitions encased the two teams’ paths to the ice. The Flyers noticed the Golden Leafs and began furiously pounding on their partition to get the Golden Leafs’ attention. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie responded by doing the same on their end. Twilight and Fluttershy kept looking ahead, not wanting to get involved. Apple Bloom was the only Flyer on the other side not participating in the pregame intimidation game.

When the one minute warning horn blared throughout the Welsh Fargo Center, the doors to the rink opened and the referee and EHL officials quickly skated over to direct both teams away from each other. Growls, snarls, and mean faces shot back and forth between the Flyers and Golden Leafs. The Welsh Fargo Center roared with vulgar Flyers fans yelling obscenities and throwing all sorts of items. The atmosphere inside the arena could be described as a packed barrel of gunpowder, just waiting for the right spark for it to explode. Tonight was no place for a young filly as bad blood boiled between these two teams.

After the Golden Leafs and Flyers were introduced, the Flyers’ announcer had special news to share.

”Fillydelphia Fans! We have a special guest with us tonight! Please give a Fillydelphia welcome to Equestria Hockey League Commissioner, Gary Bettpony!”

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” exploded the Flyers faithful as Gary Bettpony took his seat in one of the suites high above the crowd. Security ponies blocked incoming debris from hitting the unpopular commissioner.

Extra referees were brought in to officiate the game and they kept a close eye on both teams’ warm-ups, ready to diffuse a possible scuffle. The head referee grabbed the puck and called for the opening faceoff. Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie raised their glove hooves to signal their readiness. The puck dropped and the first game of the second half of the season was underway.

---

As expected, the opening minutes were filled with intense, physical checking. It appeared as if the teams were less focused on winning and were more determined to dismantle their opposition. Ponyville delivered clean hits while Fillydelphia got dirty. When Rainbow had the puck along the boards in the defensive zone, Caramelo came in with a check leading with his knee, digging it right into Rainbow’s wing. Rainbow let out a pained howl and she flicked the puck away. The puck trickled off to Rarity who brought it through the neutral zone. Caramela quickly skated up beside her and shoved her toward the boards. When they crashed up against the glass, Caramela gave Rarity a quick jarring headbutt out of a referee’s sight. Rarity lost focus and ultimately the puck as Fillydelphia brought it back down to the Ponyville zone.

Twilight skated up to delay Caramela’s stride so Caramela passed the puck over to Rose on the right faceoff circle. Rose wound up to shoot but Applejack came in with a crushing hit which sent Rose tumbling into the boards. Applejack grabbed the puck and headed the other way down the ice. Rarity and Fluttershy joined in on the three-on-two rush. Applejack brought it in over the blue line and veered off to the right boards. With Lily drawing in, Applejack snapped the puck across the zone to Rarity on the left faceoff circle. Daisy skated over to Rarity to block her path to the net. Fluttershy stepped over the blue line and was open. Rarity saw Fluttershy in the corner of her eye and passed it back. Fluttershy skated up to the pass and slapped a shot straight onto the net. The puck rose to the top corner, out of Apple Bloom’s leaping catch. The puck hit the back of the net and the goal light spun. Rarity and Applejack bombarded Fluttershy as she started celebrating.

”Goal Ponyville, scored by number 0, Fluttershy. Assisted by number 9 Rarity, and number 88, Applejack.”

The crowd raged with booing and more vulgarness as the rest of the Golden Leafs gave Fluttershy a congratulatory tap. Fillydelphia growled as they awaited the next puck drop. Play was back on and so was the physicality. The Golden Leafs were smashed by a Flyer whenever they touched the puck. Fillydelphia kept control in the Ponyville zone for two minutes and were able to get off a few shots but were denied by Pinkie. Twilight had the puck and nearly avoided a Caramelo hip check. She carried the puck up the ice and passed to Rainbow who stood at the blue line. Rainbow flew in and raced to the back of the net with Rose covering her closely. Rainbow kept having to skate through and found herself braced up against the corner boards as Rose and Caramela fought her for the puck. Caramela and Rose snuck in cheap shots and nudges as Rainbow held steady. Rarity made her way to the faceoff circle closest to Rainbow and slapped her stick. Rainbow heard the slaps and kicked the puck between her legs out of the corner. Rarity wound up as the puck came to her and fired off a one-timer. The puck shot like a bullet from a sniper rifle into the bottom left corner, too fast for Apple Bloom to block. The crowd roared again with an angry yell as Rarity laughed in delight for her goal. Rarity’s teammates met her at center ice to celebrate.

”Ponyville goal, scored by number 9, Rarity. Assisted by number 20, Rainbow Dash, and number 42, Twilight Sparkle.”

Upset with allowing another goal, Fillydelphia huddled at the net before the next faceoff. Ponyville looked on, trying to figure out what dirty scheme the Flyers would come up with. Fortunately, only twenty seconds remained on the clock for the first period. The puck dropped and no further action occurred. The Flyers fan base voiced their displeasure as both teams drifted to their locker rooms. The Golden Leafs held a 2-0 lead, clearly more focused on winning than the Flyers for the time being.

---

In the locker room, Rainbow and Rarity rested ice packs on their various bruises as they were hit the most during the period. The Golden Leafs were happy with their lead but were irritated by Fillydelphia’s dirty shots. Rainbow was the first to speak while holding an ice pack to her wing.

“We were totally right. Fillydelphia is playing dirtier than a diamond dog tonight. We need to take it to them next period!”

“Ah’m ready to get dirty if you are, Rainbow,” said Applejack.

Rainbow grinned at her line mate. “Let’s do it A.J.!”

Twilight interjected with concern. “No. We will not stoop to their level. We only have a narrow lead. Fillydelphia just needs one goal to get right back in this game. We need to keep calm, no matter what the Flyers are doing to us.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Way to be a party pooper, Twilight.”

“Trust me Rainbow. We will feel much better when we’re the more mature ponies and the better team than if we won by being as dirty as the Flyers are.”

Fluttershy and Rarity acceptingly nodded at Twilight’s declaration while Rainbow and Applejack shot each other a wink, keeping to their pact.

“Now let’s go back out there and play poised and mature!” shouted Twilight.

The Golden Leafs got up from their stalls and returned to the ice for the second period.

---

When the puck dropped for the second period, each Flyers skater stuck to their Ponyville counterpart and stayed close. Just like the first period, when a Golden Leaf touched the puck, a Flyer was right there with a hit. This time though, Applejack and Rainbow Dash fought back. When Rose had the puck in the corner and battling off Twilight, Rainbow swiftly barreled into the scrum and knocked Rose down with strong force. With Rose out of the picture, Twilight took the free puck and led a rush down to the Flyers’ zone. The Golden Leafs fired off a few shots on offense but Apple Bloom was able to stop them.

Back in the Ponyville zone, Caramelo had the puck on the right wing boards. Applejack saw him stalling so she began striding in. Caramelo couldn’t find an open teammate as Applejack drew closer. Seeing a charging Golden Leaf coming at him, Caramelo began skating toward the corner. Applejack followed him and was soon flank to flank with him. Applejack slammed Caramelo into the corner and fought for the puck. Cleverly blocking the referee’s sight with her body, Applejack quickly bit Caramelo in the ear. Caramelo yelped in pain as Applejack was able to pry the puck loose and take it down the ice.

Applejack carried the puck in and dumped it around the boards to Rarity on the other wing. An enraged Caramelo was back on the play and went to hit Applejack but Applejack was ready. She absorbed the blow and sent Caramelo to the ice with a thud. She stuck her tongue out to the fallen Flyer as she jumped back in on the play. Rarity passed the puck to the point where Fluttershy received it. With Rose coming in on her fast, Fluttershy passed over to Twilight along the blue line. Twilight saw an open lane to the net quickly closing in with the Flyers defense so she reared her head back for a quick shot. Twilight’s shot skidded along the ice and bounced up. Apple Bloom did not expect the puck’s awkward bounce and was caught out of position. The puck pounded the back of the net for another Ponyville goal. Twilight jumped in the air when she scored and was met by her friends. The crowd awoke from their bored lull to furiously boo at the celebratory Golden Leafs.

”Goal Ponyville, scored by number 42, Twilight Sparkle. Assisted by number 0, Fluttershy, and number 9, Rarity.”

Frustrated with their 3-0 deficit, Fillydelphia threw their sticks to the ice and to the boards. Ponyville returned to center ice and waited for the faceoff. When play came back underway, Fillydelphia no longer cared about the puck, they just wanted to hit. Rainbow won the faceoff back to Fluttershy and was immediately bowled over by Rose. Rose kept the pain train chugging along toward Fluttershy but Fluttershy was able to pass away in time. Applejack had the puck now but was also immediately hit by Caramelo. The Flyers took the puck into the Ponyville zone and dumped it to the corner. Twilight chased after it but Caramela was right there with a forceful nudge to win the puck away. When Caramela circled out of the corner toward the right faceoff circle, Rarity was there to skillfully poke the puck off her stick. The puck skipped over to Daisy at the point. Before the puck came to Daisy though, Applejack crashed into her to intercept the puck. The crowd booed as they thought Applejack interfered but play continued. Applejack had a breakaway entering the Fillydelphia zone. Applejack smiled at her baby sister in the net and shook her right shoulder for a fake. Completely biting on the shoulder shimmy, Apple Bloom dove to her left, leaving the net wide open. Applejack shifted left and blasted the puck in. Flyers fans’ booing doubled in volume as Applejack celebrated another Ponyville goal. Her teammates raced up to embrace her along the boards.

”Ponyville goal, scored by number 88, Applejack. Assisted by number 9, Rarity.”

Ponyville had taken a 4-0 lead and weren’t looking back. Only twenty seconds now remained in the second period. Fillydelphia won the faceoff and Lily dumped the puck into the Ponyville corner. Fluttershy went after it but Caramelo was right on her tail to try to pry it away. Fluttershy was able to keep the puck at her skates despite the prodding stick of the Flyers’ right winger. As time ran down, Caramelo hit Fluttershy in the back of the hind leg with his stick. Fluttershy fell to her knees up against the boards. The second period horn sounded but something unforgiveable was about to unfold. With Fluttershy still prone on the ice against the boards, Rose continued charging toward the corner. The Golden Leafs all turned to Fluttershy and yelled to her as Rose sprung to attack. WHAM! Rose drove Fluttershy’s face into the boards, cracking Fluttershy’s visor along with forcefully pounding her nose into the solid, unyielding boards.

Fluttershy crumpled to the ice with an ear-piercing squeal. Like a lightning strike, Rainbow Dash bolted straight for Rose and threw her skates off ready for a fight. Before Rainbow could get a hoof on her, Rose was shielded by the referee who saw the attack developing. Fluttershy slowly got up and was crying, giant specks of blood dripping from her nose onto the ice. The EHL training staff rushed out onto the ice with a towel to clean up the mess and to escort the now distraught Fluttershy to the locker room. The other Golden Leafs fiercely threw down their sticks and were about to confront the Flyers until the other officials cut them off and sent them to their respective locker rooms.

---

When Twilight and friends arrived in the locker room, Fluttershy was being treated by a doctor. She had cotton stuffed up her nose, still leaking a tiny stream of blood. Fluttershy quietly let tears roll down her eyes as Spike tried fixing her visor.

The other Golden Leafs looked at Fluttershy with great concern. The doctor finished up his work and gave Fluttershy clearance to continue playing. Twilight trotted up to her hurt friend.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?”

Fluttershy tried to sniffle but was stuffed up with cotton. She could only quietly shake her head no. By this point, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were intensely scowling and beating down everything in sight out of pure rage for what happened at the end of the period. They angrily grumbled to themselves, letting some words slip out that would not normally pass through their lips. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie tended to Fluttershy. After consoling her friend and convincing her to play the rest of the game, Twilight rallied the troops.

“Golden Leafs. What we just witnessed was a violation of everything the sport of hockey stands for, much less the Equestria Hockey League. To let a vulnerable, defenseless player get mercilessly pounded into the boards is not only a cowardly attack on our pride and morals, but they hurt our friend! We will NOT stand here and let their dirty deed go UNPUNISHED! Forget being the better pony and being mature. We will treat Fillydelphia the same way they have treated us! Now let’s go get them.”

Fired up, Rainbow and Applejack gave a salute to Twilight and then gave each other a fierce headbutt with a war cry. Fluttershy gently wiped the remaining blood away and dried her eyes before going back out on the ice. The Golden Leafs marched to the ice for the 3rd period with great focus and with a purpose.

---

The Fillydelphia crowd whooped and hollered during the entire intermission, clearly pleased with the period-ending shenanigans that occurred. The Golden Leafs methodically skated to their positions for the faceoff, all wearing intense stoic expressions on their faces. The Flyers made their way to the faceoff circle with snarky, twisted smiles on theirs. The tension on the ice could be cut with a knife. With the crowd buzzing and the Golden Leafs churning internally with vengeful rage, the referee was ready to drop the puck for the 3rd period.

“Welcome back from the break. Gary Horne here alongside my partner Filly Clement to call all the third period action.”

“Gary, this third period is shaping up to be an intense one after the events that unfolded at the end of the second. I expect the Golden Leafs to come out with very high energy. That was a very disgusting way to end a period and I bet some words were said in the locker room.”

“We shall see soon enough what becomes of this third period. The referee is ready as both teams enter the faceoff circle. With the drop of the puck, the third period is underway! Rose wins the faceoff back to Lily. Lily fires the puck into the Ponyville zone as the Flyers give chase. Caramela zips into the corner with Twilight Sparkle right on her. They jostle for position to win the puck. Caramela breaks free from the defense and passes to twin brother Caramelo along the left wing boards. The Flyers zip around the Golden Leaf zone to get open. Caramelo bides his time waiting for a teammate to get open. The Ponyville defense is beginning to close in. Here comes the Ponyville center, Rainbow Dash to pressure the Fillydelphia forward. Oh boy, that Rainbow Dash is picking up major speed.”

CRASH!

“Rainbow Dash glides in and lands a HUGE check on Caramelo! Caramelo quickly gets to his feet and throws his skates off! He’s looking for a fight! Rainbow Dash appears to be accepting the invitation AND HERE THEY GOOOO! Rainbow Dash and Caramelo are squaring off along the boards!! They’re trading heavy blows but it looks like-OHHH MYYY!! APPLEJACK HAS SPEARED ROSE TO THE ICE AND NOW SHE’S WAILING AWAY!! ROSE IS COWERING LIKE A TURTLE AS APPLEJACK IS POUNDING ON THE FLYERS’ CENTER!! The Ponyville right winger is extracting revenge for the vicious hit on her teammate from the last period! The crowd is crazily eating this up as there are two fights simultaneously rumbling-NOW THE OTHERS ARE GETTING IN ON THE ACTION TOO!! CARAMELA IS TANGLED UP WITH RARITY AND HERE COME THE GOALIES! PINKIE PIE AND APPLE BLOOM ARE MEETING AT CENTER ICE!….but they’re not fighting. They are trading chest bumps and the young Apple Bloom is holding her ground on the much bigger and puffier Pinkie Pie! BUT NOW DAISY IS SQUARING OFF WITH TWILIGHT SPARKLE!! KICKS AND PUNCHES ARE BEING THROWN ALL OVER! AN OLD-FASHIONED LINE BRAWL HAS ERUPTED HERE AT THE WELSH FARGO CENTER!! PANDEMONIUM AND ANARCHY IS RULING NOW AS THIS ARENA IS BLOWING UP!!

The referee and officials scampered around trying to separate each individual fight. The crowd’s cheering brought the arena to deafening levels. After some last minute tugging and pulling, each team was separated and was being held to their respective ends of the ice. The Golden Leafs’ fighters had their jerseys ruffled and their pads askew. Rainbow and Applejack defiantly shook their hooves to the crowd and then gave each other a hoof bump. Twilight and Rarity smiled proudly as they hugged Fluttershy.

The head referee was now in the penalty box, listening to instructions over a set of earphones from the scorer’s table. After a minute of conversation, the referee stepped back out onto the ice. He faced the crowd to make an announcement.

“This game is now postponed. Ponyville wins four to zero. Both teams please proceed to your respective locker rooms.”

Booing exploded from the fans as they were not happy with the referee’s decree. The Golden Leafs tapped each other on the head in celebration for their win before heading off the ice to heavy booing and debris being thrown at them. Rainbow laughed and threw some of the garbage back into the stands as she exited. The Golden Leafs made their way back to the locker room, proud of their defense of their pride and their friend.

---

In the locker room, Twilight and company were amped up from the brawl. Adrenaline was still rushing through their veins as they shared headbutts and hoof bumps. However, their energy dropped off immediately when the EHL Commissioner, Gary Bettpony, stormed into the room.

“What in Celestia’s name were you thinking out there?!? Never before has the EHL seen such complete disregard for sportsmanship! This will never happen again, do you hear me? I am fining your team ten thousand bits and who’s number eighty-eight?”

Applejack cautiously raised her hoof. “I am, sir.”

“I saw what you did out there, little missy! You turned a small scuffle into an all out war. I am suspending you for your next game! You are not to travel with your team either!”

Commissioner Bettpony angrily turned and left before the Golden Leafs could protest. Applejack suddenly felt a huge weight fall upon her, the weight of guilt. Twilight tried consoling her now suspended friend but Applejack didn’t want any of it. It felt as if the air was taken out of the room as the Golden Leafs quietly cleaned up and packed their things.

With a furious mob of Flyers fans waiting outside the arena, a team of security ponies cleared a path for Twilight and friends to enter their carriage back to Ponyville.

---

In the carriage ride home, the Golden Leafs tried to figure out what to do for their next game. Applejack silently stared down at the floor in disbelief at her suspension.

“What are we going to do without Applejack?” asked Rainbow.

Twilight sighed as she ran a million ideas through her head. “I don’t know. We can’t play with only four skaters.”

“How about we hold an audition? We have all the ponies in Ponyville try out and then we have a giant party after!” Pinkie suggested with glee.

Twilight paused to mull over Pinkie’s idea. “That could work. But then we would need to teach them how to play forward very quickly. There’s not much time before our next game in Cloudsdale.”

Fluttershy, with her nose still packaged with cotton, spoke up for the first time since the hit. “How about Spike? He’s been with us all along and watched all of our games.”

Spike was fast asleep on the carriage floor. Twilight looked at him and started warming up to the idea. “That’s not a bad idea, Fluttershy. He’s seen us practice and was always with me when I was studying everything about the sport. I’ll send a message to the EHL offices in the morning.”

The Golden Leafs’ carriage rolled on until it finally arrived in Ponyville in the middle of the night. Twilight tucked Spike into bed before going over the schedule with her friends. Twilight would message the EHL the next morning and they would practice a few days later. A trip to Cloudsdale was looming at the end of the week for a date with the Red Wings. The girls also pondered how they would all be able to step hoof in Cloudsdale since only two of them were pegasus ponies. The Golden Leafs shared goodbyes and parted toward their respective homes.

The Golden Leafs stepped into unfamiliar territory by physically fighting with their opponent. However, this small slip of character did not concern them as they fought with the purpose of defending a hurt friend. Lost in the tension-filled brawl was the fact the Golden Leafs won their third game. The second half of the regular season started with a big bang and will only grow from here on out.

To Be Continued

---

Three Stars from Ponyville @ Fillydelphia
*Rarity (PGL)
** Pinkie Pie (PGL)
*** Twilight Sparkle (PGL)

EHL Transactions
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8/24/11 – Manehattan Rangers release D Sapphire Shores, purchase contract of D Bon-Bon
8/29/11 – Fillydelphia Flyers C Rose suspended one game
8/29/11 – Fillydelphia Flyers fined 10,000 bits for actions detrimental to the spirit of the Equestria Hockey League
8/29/11 – Ponyville Golden Leafs RW Applejack suspended one game
8/29/11 – Ponyville Golden Leafs fined 10,000 bits for actions detrimental to the spirit of the Equestria Hockey League

Other Scores Around the EHL (Home Team in CAPS)
---
Appleloosa 3, MANEHATTAN 1
CANTERLOT 1, Cloudsdale 0

EHL Standings
---
Appleloosa 5-1
Manehattan 3-3
Cloudsdale 3-3
Canterlot 3-3
Ponyville 3-3
Fillydelphia 1-5

Comments

[Forge]

So... I'm guessing your not a Flyers fan.

[YxB]

BUCK YOU PONYVILLE NOBODY LIKES YOU AND I WILL NOT BE HARASSED BY IT BITCH!